Law; Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced

Spiritually Gifted | Men's Devotional

The Leadership Style of Jesus

Learning to De-Escalate

Watching for God in the Psalms

Romans: God's Power to Save | Video Devotional

Wherever You Are: Grace for Moms

Week 2: Knowing Truth in the Age of AI

How to Deal With Complicated People

BulletProof Your Marriage

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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkNEH">
      <div class="chapter ch13" data-usfm="NEH.13">
         <div class="label">13</div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Nehemiah&#8217;s Final Reforms</span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="NEH.13.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">On that day the Book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing of the people and there it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever be admitted into the assembly of God, </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="NEH.13.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">because they had not met the Israelites with food and water but had hired Balaam to call a curse down on them. (Our God, however, turned the curse into a blessing.) </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="NEH.13.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">When the people heard this law, they excluded from Israel all who were of foreign descent.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="NEH.13.3"></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="NEH.13.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">Before this, Eliashib the priest had been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God. He was closely associated with Tobiah, </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="NEH.13.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">and he had provided him with a large room formerly used to store the grain offerings and incense and temple articles, and also the tithes of grain, new wine and olive oil prescribed for the Levites, musicians and gatekeepers, as well as the contributions for the priests.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="NEH.13.5"></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="NEH.13.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">But while all this was going on, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had returned to the king. Some time later I asked his permission </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="NEH.13.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">and came back to Jerusalem. Here I learned about the evil thing Eliashib had done in providing Tobiah a room in the courts of the house of God. </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="NEH.13.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">I was greatly displeased and threw all Tobiah&#8217;s household goods out of the room. </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="NEH.13.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">I gave orders to purify the rooms, and then I put back into them the equipment of the house of God, with the grain offerings and the incense.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="NEH.13.9"></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="NEH.13.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">I also learned that the portions assigned to the Levites had not been given to them, and that all the Levites and musicians responsible for the service had gone back to their own fields. </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="NEH.13.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">So I rebuked the officials and asked them, &#8220;Why is the house of God neglected?&#8221; Then I called them together and stationed them at their posts.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="NEH.13.11"></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="NEH.13.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">All Judah brought the tithes of grain, new wine and olive oil into the storerooms. </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="NEH.13.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">I put Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and a Levite named Pedaiah in charge of the storerooms and made Hanan son of Zakkur, the son of Mattaniah, their assistant, because they were considered trustworthy. They were made responsible for distributing the supplies to their fellow Levites.</span></span></div><div class="b"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="NEH.13.13"></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="NEH.13.13"></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="NEH.13.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">Remember me for this, my God, and do not blot out what I have so faithfully done for the house of my God and its services.</span></span></div><div class="b"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="NEH.13.14"></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="NEH.13.14"></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="NEH.13.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content">In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys, together with wine, grapes, figs and all other kinds of loads. And they were bringing all this into Jerusalem on the Sabbath. Therefore I warned them against selling food on that day. </span></span><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="NEH.13.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="content">People from Tyre who lived in Jerusalem were bringing in fish and all kinds of merchandise and selling them in Jerusalem on the Sabbath to the people of Judah. </span></span><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="NEH.13.17"><span class="label">17</span><span class="content">I rebuked the nobles of Judah and said to them, &#8220;What is this wicked thing you are doing&#8212;desecrating the Sabbath day? </span></span><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="NEH.13.18"><span class="label">18</span><span class="content">Didn&#8217;t your ancestors do the same things, so that our God brought all this calamity on us and on this city? Now you are stirring up more wrath against Israel by desecrating the Sabbath.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="NEH.13.18"></span><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="NEH.13.19"><span class="label">19</span><span class="content">When evening shadows fell on the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I ordered the doors to be shut and not opened until the Sabbath was over. I stationed some of my own men at the gates so that no load could be brought in on the Sabbath day. </span></span><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="NEH.13.20"><span class="label">20</span><span class="content">Once or twice the merchants and sellers of all kinds of goods spent the night outside Jerusalem. </span></span><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="NEH.13.21"><span class="label">21</span><span class="content">But I warned them and said, &#8220;Why do you spend the night by the wall? If you do this again, I will arrest you.&#8221; From that time on they no longer came on the Sabbath. </span></span><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="NEH.13.22"><span class="label">22</span><span class="content">Then I commanded the Levites to purify themselves and go and guard the gates in order to keep the Sabbath day holy.</span></span></div><div class="b"><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="NEH.13.22"></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="NEH.13.22"><span class="content">Remember me for this also, my God, and show mercy to me according to your great love.</span></span></div><div class="b"><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="NEH.13.22"></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="NEH.13.22"></span><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="NEH.13.23"><span class="label">23</span><span class="content">Moreover, in those days I saw men of Judah who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon and Moab. </span></span><span class="verse v24" data-usfm="NEH.13.24"><span class="label">24</span><span class="content">Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod or the language of one of the other peoples, and did not know how to speak the language of Judah. </span></span><span class="verse v25" data-usfm="NEH.13.25"><span class="label">25</span><span class="content">I rebuked them and called curses down on them. I beat some of the men and pulled out their hair. I made them take an oath in God&#8217;s name and said: &#8220;You are not to give your daughters in marriage to their sons, nor are you to take their daughters in marriage for your sons or for yourselves. </span></span><span class="verse v26" data-usfm="NEH.13.26"><span class="label">26</span><span class="content">Was it not because of marriages like these that Solomon king of Israel sinned? Among the many nations there was no king like him. He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel, but even he was led into sin by foreign women. </span></span><span class="verse v27" data-usfm="NEH.13.27"><span class="label">27</span><span class="content">Must we hear now that you too are doing all this terrible wickedness and are being unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women?&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v27" data-usfm="NEH.13.27"></span><span class="verse v28" data-usfm="NEH.13.28"><span class="label">28</span><span class="content">One of the sons of Joiada son of Eliashib the high priest was son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite. And I drove him away from me.</span></span></div><div class="b"><span class="verse v28" data-usfm="NEH.13.28"></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v28" data-usfm="NEH.13.28"></span><span class="verse v29" data-usfm="NEH.13.29"><span class="label">29</span><span class="content">Remember them, my God, because they defiled the priestly office and the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites.</span></span></div><div class="b"><span class="verse v29" data-usfm="NEH.13.29"></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v29" data-usfm="NEH.13.29"></span><span class="verse v30" data-usfm="NEH.13.30"><span class="label">30</span><span class="content">So I purified the priests and the Levites of everything foreign, and assigned them duties, each to his own task. </span></span><span class="verse v31" data-usfm="NEH.13.31"><span class="label">31</span><span class="content">I also made provision for contributions of wood at designated times, and for the firstfruits.</span></span></div><div class="b"><span class="verse v31" data-usfm="NEH.13.31"></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v31" data-usfm="NEH.13.31"><span class="content">Remember me with favor, my God.</span></span></div>
      </div>
   </div>
</div>

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkZEC">
      <div class="chapter ch9" data-usfm="ZEC.9">
         <div class="label">9</div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Judgment on Israel&#8217;s Enemies</span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="ZEC.9.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">A prophecy:</span></span></div><div class="b"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="ZEC.9.1"></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="ZEC.9.1"><span class="content">The word of the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> is against the land of Hadrak</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="ZEC.9.1"><span class="content">and will come to rest on Damascus&#8212;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="ZEC.9.1"><span class="content">for the eyes of all people and all the tribes of Israel</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="ZEC.9.1"><span class="content">are on the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">&#8212;</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class="body"><span class="fr">9:1 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">Damascus. / For the eye of the <span class="nd">Lord</span> is on all people, / as well as on the tribes of Israel,</span></span></span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="ZEC.9.1"></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="ZEC.9.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">and on Hamath too, which borders on it,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="ZEC.9.2"><span class="content">and on Tyre and Sidon, though they are very skillful.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="ZEC.9.2"></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="ZEC.9.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">Tyre has built herself a stronghold;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="ZEC.9.3"><span class="content">she has heaped up silver like dust,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="ZEC.9.3"><span class="content">and gold like the dirt of the streets.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="ZEC.9.3"></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="ZEC.9.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">But the Lord will take away her possessions</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="ZEC.9.4"><span class="content">and destroy her power on the sea,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="ZEC.9.4"><span class="content">and she will be consumed by fire.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="ZEC.9.4"></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="ZEC.9.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">Ashkelon will see it and fear;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="ZEC.9.5"><span class="content">Gaza will writhe in agony,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="ZEC.9.5"><span class="content">and Ekron too, for her hope will wither.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="ZEC.9.5"><span class="content">Gaza will lose her king</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="ZEC.9.5"><span class="content">and Ashkelon will be deserted.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="ZEC.9.5"></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="ZEC.9.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">A mongrel people will occupy Ashdod,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="ZEC.9.6"><span class="content">and I will put an end to the pride of the Philistines.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="ZEC.9.6"></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="ZEC.9.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">I will take the blood from their mouths,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="ZEC.9.7"><span class="content">the forbidden food from between their teeth.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="ZEC.9.7"><span class="content">Those who are left will belong to our God</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="ZEC.9.7"><span class="content">and become a clan in Judah,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="ZEC.9.7"><span class="content">and Ekron will be like the Jebusites.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="ZEC.9.7"></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ZEC.9.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">But I will encamp at my temple</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ZEC.9.8"><span class="content">to guard it against marauding forces.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ZEC.9.8"><span class="content">Never again will an oppressor overrun my people,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ZEC.9.8"><span class="content">for now I am keeping watch.</span></span></div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">The Coming of Zion&#8217;s King</span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ZEC.9.8"></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="ZEC.9.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="ZEC.9.9"><span class="content">Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="ZEC.9.9"><span class="content">See, your king comes to you,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="ZEC.9.9"><span class="content">righteous and victorious,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="ZEC.9.9"><span class="content">lowly and riding on a donkey,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="ZEC.9.9"><span class="content">on a colt, the foal of a donkey.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="ZEC.9.9"></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ZEC.9.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">I will take away the chariots from Ephraim</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ZEC.9.10"><span class="content">and the warhorses from Jerusalem,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ZEC.9.10"><span class="content">and the battle bow will be broken.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ZEC.9.10"><span class="content">He will proclaim peace to the nations.</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ZEC.9.10"><span class="content">His rule will extend from sea to sea</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ZEC.9.10"><span class="content">and from the River</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class="body"><span class="fr">9:10 </span><span class="ft">That is, the Euphrates</span></span></span><span class="content"> to the ends of the earth.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ZEC.9.10"></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ZEC.9.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ZEC.9.11"><span class="content">I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ZEC.9.11"></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="ZEC.9.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="ZEC.9.12"><span class="content">even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="ZEC.9.12"></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="ZEC.9.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">I will bend Judah as I bend my bow</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="ZEC.9.13"><span class="content">and fill it with Ephraim.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="ZEC.9.13"><span class="content">I will rouse your sons, Zion,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="ZEC.9.13"><span class="content">against your sons, Greece,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="ZEC.9.13"><span class="content">and make you like a warrior&#8217;s sword.</span></span></div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">The </span><span class="nd"><span class="heading">Lord</span></span><span class="heading"> Will Appear</span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="ZEC.9.13"></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="ZEC.9.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">Then the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> will appear over them;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="ZEC.9.14"><span class="content">his arrow will flash like lightning.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="ZEC.9.14"><span class="content">The Sovereign </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> will sound the trumpet;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="ZEC.9.14"><span class="content">he will march in the storms of the south,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="ZEC.9.14"></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="ZEC.9.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content">and the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> Almighty will shield them.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="ZEC.9.15"><span class="content">They will destroy</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="ZEC.9.15"><span class="content">and overcome with slingstones.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="ZEC.9.15"><span class="content">They will drink and roar as with wine;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="ZEC.9.15"><span class="content">they will be full like a bowl</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="ZEC.9.15"><span class="content">used for sprinkling</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class="body"><span class="fr">9:15 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">bowl, / like</span></span></span><span class="content"> the corners of the altar.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="ZEC.9.15"></span><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="ZEC.9.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="content">The </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> their God will save his people on that day</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="ZEC.9.16"><span class="content">as a shepherd saves his flock.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="ZEC.9.16"><span class="content">They will sparkle in his land</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="ZEC.9.16"><span class="content">like jewels in a crown.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="ZEC.9.16"></span><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="ZEC.9.17"><span class="label">17</span><span class="content">How attractive and beautiful they will be!</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="ZEC.9.17"><span class="content">Grain will make the young men thrive,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="ZEC.9.17"><span class="content">and new wine the young women.</span></span></div>
      </div>
   </div>
</div>

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkACT">
      <div class="chapter ch22" data-usfm="ACT.22">
         <div class="label">22</div><div class="nb"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="ACT.22.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">&#8220;Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="ACT.22.1"></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="ACT.22.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="ACT.22.2"><span class="content">Then Paul said: </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="ACT.22.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">&#8220;I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="ACT.22.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="ACT.22.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">as the high priest and all the Council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="ACT.22.5"></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="ACT.22.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">&#8220;About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="ACT.22.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, </span><span class="wj"><span class="content">&#8216;Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?&#8217;</span></span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="ACT.22.7"></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ACT.22.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Who are you, Lord?&#8217; I asked.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ACT.22.8"><span class="content">&#8220; </span><span class="wj"><span class="content">&#8216;I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,&#8217;</span></span><span class="content"> he replied. </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="ACT.22.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="ACT.22.9"></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ACT.22.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;What shall I do, Lord?&#8217; I asked.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ACT.22.10"><span class="content">&#8220; </span><span class="wj"><span class="content">&#8216;Get up,&#8217;</span></span><span class="content"> the Lord said, </span><span class="wj"><span class="content">&#8216;and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.&#8217;</span></span><span class="content"> </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ACT.22.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ACT.22.11"></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="ACT.22.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">&#8220;A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="ACT.22.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">He stood beside me and said, &#8216;Brother Saul, receive your sight!&#8217; And at that very moment I was able to see him.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="ACT.22.13"></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="ACT.22.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">&#8220;Then he said: &#8216;The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. </span></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="ACT.22.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content">You will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. </span></span><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="ACT.22.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="content">And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.&#8217;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="ACT.22.16"></span><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="ACT.22.17"><span class="label">17</span><span class="content">&#8220;When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance </span></span><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="ACT.22.18"><span class="label">18</span><span class="content">and saw the Lord speaking to me. </span><span class="wj"><span class="content">&#8216;Quick!&#8217;</span></span><span class="content"> he said. </span><span class="wj"><span class="content">&#8216;Leave Jerusalem immediately, because the people here will not accept your testimony about me.&#8217;</span></span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="ACT.22.18"></span><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="ACT.22.19"><span class="label">19</span><span class="content">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Lord,&#8217; I replied, &#8216;these people know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison and beat those who believe in you. </span></span><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="ACT.22.20"><span class="label">20</span><span class="content">And when the blood of your martyr</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class="body"><span class="fr">22:20 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">witness</span></span></span><span class="content"> Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.&#8217;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="ACT.22.20"></span><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="ACT.22.21"><span class="label">21</span><span class="content">&#8220;Then the Lord said to me, </span><span class="wj"><span class="content">&#8216;Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.&#8217; </span></span><span class="content">&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Paul the Roman Citizen</span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="ACT.22.21"></span><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="ACT.22.22"><span class="label">22</span><span class="content">The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, &#8220;Rid the earth of him! He&#8217;s not fit to live!&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="ACT.22.22"></span><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="ACT.22.23"><span class="label">23</span><span class="content">As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, </span></span><span class="verse v24" data-usfm="ACT.22.24"><span class="label">24</span><span class="content">the commander ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. He directed that he be flogged and interrogated in order to find out why the people were shouting at him like this. </span></span><span class="verse v25" data-usfm="ACT.22.25"><span class="label">25</span><span class="content">As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, &#8220;Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn&#8217;t even been found guilty?&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v25" data-usfm="ACT.22.25"></span><span class="verse v26" data-usfm="ACT.22.26"><span class="label">26</span><span class="content">When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. &#8220;What are you going to do?&#8221; he asked. &#8220;This man is a Roman citizen.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v26" data-usfm="ACT.22.26"></span><span class="verse v27" data-usfm="ACT.22.27"><span class="label">27</span><span class="content">The commander went to Paul and asked, &#8220;Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v27" data-usfm="ACT.22.27"><span class="content">&#8220;Yes, I am,&#8221; he answered.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v27" data-usfm="ACT.22.27"></span><span class="verse v28" data-usfm="ACT.22.28"><span class="label">28</span><span class="content">Then the commander said, &#8220;I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v28" data-usfm="ACT.22.28"><span class="content">&#8220;But I was born a citizen,&#8221; Paul replied.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v28" data-usfm="ACT.22.28"></span><span class="verse v29" data-usfm="ACT.22.29"><span class="label">29</span><span class="content">Those who were about to interrogate him withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains.</span></span></div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Paul Before the Sanhedrin</span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v29" data-usfm="ACT.22.29"></span><span class="verse v30" data-usfm="ACT.22.30"><span class="label">30</span><span class="content">The commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews. So the next day he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the members of the Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul and had him stand before them.</span></span></div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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      <div class="chapter ch3" data-usfm="1JN.3">
         <div class="label">3</div><div class="p"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="1JN.3.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="1JN.3.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears,</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class="body"><span class="fr">3:2 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">when it is made known</span></span></span><span class="content"> we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="1JN.3.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="1JN.3.3"></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="1JN.3.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="1JN.3.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="1JN.3.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="1JN.3.6"></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="1JN.3.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="1JN.3.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil&#8217;s work. </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="1JN.3.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God&#8217;s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="1JN.3.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God&#8217;s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.</span></span></div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">More on Love and Hatred</span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="1JN.3.10"></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="1JN.3.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="1JN.3.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother&#8217;s were righteous. </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="1JN.3.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters,</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class="body"><span class="fr">3:13 </span><span class="ft">The Greek word for </span><span class="fq">brothers and sisters </span><span class="ft">(<span class="tl">adelphoi</span>) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God&#8217;s family; also in verse 16.</span></span></span><span class="content"> if the world hates you. </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="1JN.3.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. </span></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="1JN.3.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content">Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="1JN.3.15"></span><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="1JN.3.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="content">This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. </span></span><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="1JN.3.17"><span class="label">17</span><span class="content">If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? </span></span><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="1JN.3.18"><span class="label">18</span><span class="content">Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="1JN.3.18"></span><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="1JN.3.19"><span class="label">19</span><span class="content">This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: </span></span><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="1JN.3.20"><span class="label">20</span><span class="content">If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. </span></span><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="1JN.3.21"><span class="label">21</span><span class="content">Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God </span></span><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="1JN.3.22"><span class="label">22</span><span class="content">and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. </span></span><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="1JN.3.23"><span class="label">23</span><span class="content">And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. </span></span><span class="verse v24" data-usfm="1JN.3.24"><span class="label">24</span><span class="content">The one who keeps God&#8217;s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.</span></span></div>
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